NCJ Number
152297
Date Published
1994
Length
27 pages
Annotation
This report reviews the findings of a Canadian survey of alternative measures (AM) programs, which are intended to divert young persons from criminal justice prosecutions and sanctions.
Abstract
The major purpose of the AM survey was to bridge the information gap between the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) and the Youth Courts (YCS) surveys. The UCR survey reports on the number of youth who were alleged to have committed an offense. The YCS survey reports on the number of youth who appear in court. Many of the youth who participate in AM programs are not charged and do not appear in Youth Court. The AM survey was expected to explain some of the variance between UCR and YCS data. The survey collected aggregated data from the provincial and territorial agencies responsible for providing AM programs. The survey found major jurisdictional differences in the processing of cases into AM programs. Various jurisdictions count cases at different stages of the AM process, and they do not necessarily count at all the stages. The number of cases flowing through the AM process cannot be documented for every jurisdiction. In addition, many of the case-characteristics data that would permit comparisons or allow for the control of differences are not available. Current data, therefore, can only present individual jurisdictional profiles. Although in many jurisdictions the results of the AM survey do explain some of the variance between UCR and YCS results, there are still large gaps or unexplained anomalies. Some suggestions for the future use of the survey are offered.